Wednesday, November 09, 2005

Let us try to identify November 8, 2005 as the day when the planet shifted on its axis and the forces of good started to recover.The Dover, PA school board threw out the creationists. (We won't talk about Kansas; they're behind the curve.)And MARGEPAC scored two victories in the Pittsfield City Council race -- Peter Marchetti came in second among eight contenders for four spots as Councilor at Large and Mike Ward defeated an incumbent to join as the Ward Four councilor.Together with our victory in the Pat Jehlen race in August, it's a hat trick -- three for three.MargePAC was also thrilled that Mike Bissonnette is the new mayor of Chicopee (when your opponent is arrested a week before the general election, you don't really NEED MargePAC to help you...) and that Sam Yoon became at at-large City Councilor in the City of Boston. We were interested in that race, but didn't really find a personal connection. Since MargePAC at least wants candidates to understand that importance of this group of small donors throwing their collective hats in the ring, we don't do it unless someone appreciates us. That's all we want....not jobs, not favors, just appreciation of the sacrifice that small donors are making.So raise a glass to all the "good guys" who joined the ranks of elected public officials last night. Here's hoping that the world is a better place come January 1st.

Saturday, November 05, 2005

Given the state of the world, it's been MUCH more fun to spend time at the Williamstown Film Festival than to worry about Scooter Libby. Actors, writers, producers and directors can transport us to other worlds, albeit many of them sobering, but the material is presented to you in 90 or 100 minutes and you can ponder it and discuss it, and then shelve it until you see it again. Our national disgraces seem not to be that tidy.So what we have here, it seems to me, is the White House, in the personages of Richard Cheney, Karl Rove and Scooter Libby, being so frightened that the America people MIGHT figure out that they cooked up a pretense for murdering American soldiers and Iraqi civilians, that they started a whispering campaign that included outing a CIA agent. Knowing that the American people would MUCH rather count the angels dancing on the head of a pin than to stop momentarily polluting the air and consumerizing themselves into oblivion to actually consider the facts and the implications, the three amigos successfully got their puppet re-elected, albeit with some help from the OH Secretary of State (talk about cronyism!) and so now if the truth comes out, who cares? Halliburton has their contracts, Supreme Court justices are being installed and with any luck we can drill some more in Alaska all the while enjoying our tax cuts. From a Republican point of view, IT DOESN'T GET ANY BETTER!!!!!So that we shouldn't notice Scooter, Karl, Dick, Harriet, Sammy et al., we have a national crisis on AVIAN FLU!!! (Although I guess we're safe this year, according to Gipper, Jr.)If this were a movie at the Film Festival, I would be laughing my butt off. As it is, I am in mourning for the concept of a democratic society which has been reduced to wagging the dog. Rest in peace. No one else will.